Data Protection Privacy Notice
Purpose
The Professional Engineers Registration Board (“PERB”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is responsible, under the Professional Engineers Registration Act (PERA) of 1987, for the regulation of the practice of engineering in Jamaica including the registration of engineers.
The purpose of this privacy notice is to ensure compliance with our obligation under the Data Protection Act (2020) (DPA) to provide information to you on how we collect, use, process and store your personal data.
Who it applies to
This notice applies to:
- Applicants for jobs
- Applicants for registration
- employees, directors, committee members of PERB and any third party with whom PERB interacts.
- Website users, visitors, survey respondents
- Webinar/seminar attendees
Who is the data controller?
The data controller (the entity that processes your personal data) is:
The Professional Engineers Registration Board
9 Leinster Road
Kingston 5
If you have any questions about the privacy notice or how we handle your personal data.
If you have any questions about this privacy notice or how we handle your personal data, you may contact the data protection officer at perbdpo@megjc.gov.jm
What is personal data?
"Personal Data" is any information relating to a living individual or an individual who has been deceased for less than thirty years who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier. This information may include, but is not limited to your name, date of birth, age, home address, nationality, identification number, marital status, maiden name, telephone number, email address, and gender. Personal Data, however, does not include your business title, business address, or business telephone number in your capacity as an employee of an organization.
"Sensitive Personal Data'' means personal data consisting of any of the following information in respect of an individual:
(a) genetic data or biometric data;
(b) filiation, or racial or ethnic origin;
(c) political opinions, philosophical beliefs, religious beliefs, or other beliefs of a similar nature;
(d) membership in any trade union;
(e) physical or mental health or condition;
(f) sex life;
(g) the alleged commission of any offence by the individual or any proceedings for any offence alleged to have been committed by them.
Both "Personal Data" and "Sensitive Personal Data" are referred to as "Personal Data" in this Privacy Statement.
PERB’s Data Protection Policy
Your personal data will be processed in accordance with the standards set out in the DPA,
There are:
- Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully.
- Personal data shall be collected only for one or more specified purposes and may not be processed in any manner that is not compatible with these purposes.
- Personal data shall be adequate, relevant, and limited to the purpose for which they are processed.
- Personal data shall be accurate and where necessary kept up to date.
- Personal data processed for any purpose shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose and disposal of personal data shall be in accordance with regulations made under the Act.
- Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects under the Act.
- Appropriate technical and organisational methods shall be taken:
- Against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction or damage to the personal data;
- To ensure that the Information Commissioner is notified promptly of any security breach which may affect personal data.
- Personal data shall not be transferred to any State or territory outside of Jamaica which has a lower level of protection than Jamaica has for the rights and freedoms of data subjects.
Reasons for processing your personal data.
It is necessary to process personal data to carry out our statutory functions to register engineers, regulate the practice of engineering and to ensure the maintenance of acceptable standards of professional conduct by persons registered as engineers.
Other reasons for processing personal data include but are not limited to:
- Recruitment of staff
- Procurement of goods and services
- Administering and managing our website
- Organising training and webinars
Personal data collected.
We collect data about you to carry out our statutory functions to register engineers, regulate the practice of engineering and to ensure the maintenance of acceptable standards of professional conduct by persons registered as engineers. We also collect data to enable our relationship with you to run smoothly. The kinds of personal data we may collect include:
- Identity data
- Contact data
- Details of your qualifications and work experience
- Financial information
Cookies and Internet Technology
Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard Internet log information and visitor behaviour information. We use Internet technology like cookies to assist us in providing services to you and track website hits.
You can set your browser not to accept cookies.
How we collect personal data
Your personal data may be collected directly from you or received from other sources;
- Collected directly from you include but not limited to:
- When you complete an application for registration’
- When you apply for employment
- When you complete a survey
- When you sign up for a PERB event
- When you contact us with queries or complaints
- For Disciplinary proceedings
- Received from other sources include but not limited to:
- From your references
- From your employer
How we use personal data
We will only use your personal data as permitted by law:
- Where necessary to perform or to enter into a contractual relationship with you
- Where necessary for us to comply with a legal obligation
- Where necessary to:
- Comply with our statutory functions
- To perform a task carried out by us in the public interest
- Where necessary for our legitimate interests to the extent that your rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests are not prejudiced
- With your consent
Change of purpose
We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which we collected it unless we reasonably consider it necessary to use it for another purpose and that purpose is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your personal information for another purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis that allows us to do so.
Please note that we may process your personal information without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.
Automated Decision Making
If you apply for registration, you may be subject to automated decision making if you take an online examination.
The automated decision making is reviewed and tested annually to ensure that all decisions made are correct at the time the assessment is carried out.
You have the right to be informed of the logic used in making decisions using your personal data if you ask.
Data Sharing
- Past employers, educational institutions, your references to verify information provided in your application for a job or registration
- Service providers including for example insurance providers and auditors
- Government agencies with the right to receive the information for example, Tax Administration Jamaica
Transferring Information Outside Jamaica
Data Security
We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised manner, altered, or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to personal information to only those employees, Board members, Committee members, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal information on our instructions, and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.
Data Retention
Personal data may be kept for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. The period of retention will depend on the type of personal data, why it was being processed, relevant policies and procedures and factors which may include retention to facilitate the right of applicants for registration and registrants subject to Disciplinary proceedings to appeal the decisions of PERB.
At the end of the retention period, disposal of personal data shall be in accordance with regulations made under the DPA.
Rights of Access. Correction. Erasure and Restriction
You may query the accuracy or completeness of your Personal Data in our records at any time. If you successfully establish that your Personal Data in our database is incorrect or incomplete, we will make the necessary changes.
If you make a written request to object to processing or for access to any Personal Data we have collected, used, or disclosed about you, we may action the request as permitted by law. To make a formal request or for further information about your access rights, please contact our office, as stated below.
- By email at perbdpo@megjc.gov.jm
- To PERB’s office at 9 Leinster Road, Kingston 5
- By registered mail to PERB’s office at 9 Leinster Road, Kingston 5
For further information, please refer to the Data Subject Access Rights.
Inform us of changes
It is important that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and current. Please let us know if your personal information changes during your relationship with us.
Your rights in connection with personal information
You have the following rights in relation to your personal information:
a. To be informed whether your personal data is being processed on request.
b. To get a description of the personal data being processed on request.
c. To get personal data that is being processed and any information available to the data controller about the source of the personal information on request.
d. To have the personal data transmitted to another data controller on request.
e. To be informed of the logic we use in making decisions using your personal data on request.
f. To prevent the processing of your personal data where:
i. Processing the data may cause substantial and unwarranted damage or distress;
ii. The personal data is incomplete or irrelevant with respect to the reason for processing it;
iii. Processing the personal data is prohibited by law;
iv. The personal data has been retained for longer than permitted by law.
g. To request the data controller to correct inaccuracies in the data.
h. Not to have their data used for direct marketing without their informed consent.
If you want to exercise any of these rights, please contact our office, as stated below.
- By email at perbdpo@megjc.gov.jm
- To PERB’s office at 9 Leinster Road, Kingston 5
- By registered mail to PERB’s office at 9 Leinster Road, Kingston 5
For further information, please refer to the Data Subject Access Rights.
Data Protection Officer and Right to Complain
We have appointed a Data Protection Officer (“DPO”) to oversee compliance with this Notice. If you have any questions about this privacy notice or how we handle your personal information, please contact the DPO.
If you have to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner, “IC”, the Jamaican supervisory authority for data protection issues about the way we process or have processed your personal information. You can contact the IC by writing to:
Office of the Information Commissioner
Masonic Building, 2nd Floor.
45-47 Barbados Avenue
Kingston 5
Email: info@oic.gov.jm
Changes to this Notice
We reserve the right to update this notice at any time. The updated notice will be placed here on our website. We may also notify you in other ways from time to time about the processing of your personal information.